My Enemy Became My Cultivation Companion

A group of four traveled onward.

Yin Weiyin had been injured by the secret technique of the Demon Sect. According to the Princess of Xiang, the dark qi originated from the Demon Sect's "Tree of Five Deadly Poisons." Once this poisonous method strikes at one's core, Yin Weiyin's cultivation would sharply decline, and her mind would be consumed by a Heavenly Demon, staining her Daoic heart.

Fortunately, Chen Yi arrived in time. Yin Weiyin had only been slashed once and had not suffered damage to her core. She would only need a period of rest to mend her life force and energy.

She was, after all, the Goddess of Taihua Mountain and was exceptionally skilled in such mystical matters. Even if Chen Yi wanted to help, it would be futile. As she put it, his good intentions would only lead to trouble.

When she said this, Chen Yi pinched her waist.

Yin Weiyin shuddered, her legs trembling, her autumn-like eyes lifting and falling. If no one else had been present, she might have already uttered words of mock pleading.

The Princess of Xiang, watching the female crown suffer, felt quite uncomfortable, guilt welling up within her.

Had she done something wrong?

Would it have been better to just let Sister Weiyang hide the truth?

Yin Tingxue, watching the female crown being teased in such a manner by Chen Yi, couldn't help but sympathize. She knew Chen Yi's temperament better than anyone. Even when she herself was as obedient as could be, he still found countless ways to bully her.

During the time she hated Chen Yi the most, she regarded him as a Mara King, like the demon Papiyan in Buddhist scriptures. Each night, she would secretly chant sutras and pray for a Buddha to take him away. But no Buddha ever came, and her attempts to escape failed. In the end, she gave up and could only obediently submit.

Of course, these thoughts were locked deep in Yin Tingxue's heart, never to be spoken aloud.

The group moved through a spacious corridor. Chen Yi strode forward confidently, clearing the way. The path remained polished like glazed tiles, and murals could be seen at intervals, their colors vivid. In the dim and hazy light, the Bodhisattvas and Buddhas depicted appeared with noble and solemn countenances.

Chen Yi cast a casual glance at the murals, uninterested.

But Yin Tingxue meticulously examined almost every mural.

When Chen Yi looked her way, she softly murmured,

"Isn't this the Medicine Buddha Tower?"

"Yes, so?"

"But… all the murals here depict stories of Shakyamuni Buddha."

Yin Tingxue spoke carefully and pointed at the mural.

On the mural was Shakyamuni Buddha meditating beneath a tree for forty-nine days, attaining enlightenment.

"What's the difference?"

Chen Yi, like many common folk unfamiliar with Buddhist lore, couldn't distinguish between the Buddhas in the Great Hero Hall.

"The Medicine Buddha is the Sect Hierarch of the East. Shakyamuni Buddha is the Sect Hierarch of the West. They aren't the same Buddha."

Yin Tingxue explained softly.

"This is the Medicine Buddha Tower. The murals should depict the Medicine Buddha's stories."

The female crown nearby also nodded in agreement, adding,

"Moreover, the Medicine Buddha attained Buddhahood five thousand years before Shakyamuni."

Hearing this, Chen Yi lowered his gaze in thought.

He recalled that in the Western Secret Sect's Five Buddhas system, Akshobhya had replaced the Medicine Buddha's position as the deity they worshipped. In their view, all five Buddhas were manifestations of Shakyamuni Buddha.

Yet this Medicine Buddha Tower built by the Joyful Sect was filled with murals of Shakyamuni Buddha's stories, not those of the Medicine Buddha.

Considering the featureless Medicine Buddha statues they had encountered along the way...

Could it be that, at some point in time, the Medicine Buddha and Shakyamuni Buddha had been considered one and the same?

This curious thought arose in Chen Yi's mind, but he found no way to verify it.

Such connections were likely tied to tremendous secrets and legends. Otherwise, the contradictions surrounding this Medicine Buddha Tower would remain incomprehensible.

The group continued deeper inside. The ambient light dimmed gradually without being noticed. Though the tower lacked the presence of dark qi, an eerie tranquility pervaded, unsettling the hearts of those who ventured within. The further Chen Yi walked, the more bizarre everything felt. The murals along the way grew cruder in craftsmanship, replaced by large expanses of Sanskrit script.

After walking for what felt like an eternity, they found themselves surrounded by waves of Sanskrit texts filling the corridor walls, as if something astonishing lay hidden ahead. Along the way, statues of the Heavenly Drum Thunder Sound Buddha, meant for repelling evil spirits, could be seen.

The path was remote yet not sinister. Precisely because it lacked sinister qualities, it was all the more unnerving.

Chen Yi carefully bypassed the Heavenly Drum Thunder Sound Buddha statues, eventually reaching the end of the corridor. Ahead lay a space neither vast nor imposing. Upon stepping inside, the group froze in astonishment.

The room before them was lined on both sides with various Buddha statues, all sitting cross-legged on lotus platforms, gilded in gold leaf.

Each Buddha statue displayed a proper Dharma Seal, their expressions frozen as if solidified. All their gazes were cast downward.

Chen Yi stepped forward cautiously, finding nothing unusual and was about to sigh with relief.

When he turned back, he saw Yin Tingxue's face had gone pale as a sheet.

"They–they're… speaking?!" Yin Tingxue exclaimed, clutching her ears and trembling violently.

As her words fell, the faces of the downward-gazing Buddha statues began to weep blood. Their expressions, distorted beneath the gold leaf, seemed to morph into grotesque grimaces, yet still carried an air of mercy.

Dong Gong Ruoshu began to tremble, exclaiming,

"Could there be… living people trapped in these statues?!"

Her words, though unintended, immediately took hold of Chen Yi's mind. Looking at the rows of Buddha statues, he felt a chill crawl across his scalp, and something clicked in his memory.

His own poison! The Flesh Bodhisattva Elixir!

The Flesh Bodhisattva Elixir was a concoction used to preserve the bodies of enlightened monks post-mortem, turning them into "flesh Buddhas" for worship. This process sealed the body's energy channels and prevented decay. Monasteries would then coat these monks' corpses in gold leaf and enshrine them.

This row of Buddha statues… Could they all be flesh Buddhas?!

Realizing this, Chen Yi glanced at Yin Tingxue's pain-stricken face and, without hesitation, drew his blade.

With a stroke of "Destroying Winds and Splitting Rain," a fine line tore through the air. Its sharp force swept forward like a gale, scattering dust and shattering the heads of the row of flesh Buddhas in a single motion.

Gold leaf flew everywhere, and the severed heads crumbled like fragmented stones, releasing a foul stench. A thick surge of dark qi followed, flooding the air.

Yin Weiyin swiftly pulled out a talisman, muttering spells before pressing it to the ground. A rudimentary array emerged, emitting a faint glow that isolated the stench and dark qi.

The female crown, stunned by Chen Yi's clean and ruthless actions, stammered,

"But those were Buddha statues… How could you… just destroy them all?"

Chen Yi sheathed his blade, staring at the layers of dark qi now repelled by the array barrier.

"The Buddha is eternal and indestructible. If something can be killed, it certainly isn't the Buddha."

Yin Weiyin had no rebuttal.

If he'd destroyed Taoist statues, he would have incurred the sin of disrespecting Taoism. But since he destroyed Buddha statues, the female crown hardly minded.

After all, in the longstanding rivalry between Buddhism and Taoism, Buddhism had won over Taoism nearly eleven times. Even in the mortal realm, Buddhist temples received far more worship than Taoist ones.

Turning his gaze, Chen Yi saw that Yin Tingxue's complexion had improved. She was softly chanting what sounded like scriptures of deliverance.

"Thus have I heard: Once the Buddha was dwelling at Jetavana Grove in Shravasti..."

The female crown spotted this scene and shook her head in amusement, dismissing it as inconsequential.

Though she understood the Princess of Xiang's charitable heart, possessing compassion didn't necessarily mean possessing divine capabilities.

While Yin Weiyin fiddled with another talisman, her eyes suddenly widened.

One after another, spirit forms appeared, slowly gathering. Each bore expressions of joy or sorrow, eventually bowing toward the young woman!

The female crown stood frozen.

In her ears, the Princess of Xiang's voice of deliverance persisted.